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Henry the Reading Wonder Dog is getting geared up for the Jeffco Library Free Summer Reading Program “Rock the Books” beginning June 1st, 2018! He is encouraging all Green Gables Families to register to win prizes June 1- July 31st by clocking reading minutes for our school. If the school earns the most minutes for an elementary school we have a chance to win $800.00. If Jefferson County reads 40 million minutes the library will donate $500.00 to the Foothills Animal shelter!

What does Henry need you to do today?

Where did Henry come from?

Henry was found on an Indian Reservation in Gallop New Mexico wandering the streets alone. He was injured. The Gallop animal police received an anonymous call to pick up Henry. They contacted Western Aussie Rescue to see if they had a foster home to help rehabilitate Henry. A foster home was found for Henry in Cheyenne Wyoming. Henry began his journey to becoming “Henry the Reading Wonder Dog”.

Henry is about 1.5 years old. He is a ‘south paw’ because his left ear flops over. So we think that Henry is left handed. When Henry was first brought to his foster home he could not climb stairs, he did not play with toys, he did not get along with other dogs, he did not trust people, and he did not have good house manners. His foster parents in Cheyenne Wyoming worked very hard to improve Henry’s skills and manners so that he could find a forever home. Through patience, consistency, love, support, and hard work at his foster home in Wyoming Henry’s basic skills quickly came along. Henry found a forever home in the suburbs outside of Denver, Colorado.

Henry had many doctor appointments to mend his skin and injuries he sustained while out on the streets in Gallop New Mexico. In Wyoming Henry learned how to play with other dogs, trust the company of humans, and he had started to have good house manners. Shortly after arriving in his forever home his new parents decided it was time to send Henry to school. Henry was enrolled in a nearby school for dogs and started to work with a very special trainer named Erica.

Erica is a Professional Dog Trainer. She used positive training methods with Henry to help him master his social skills with both people and his fellow classmates at school. Erica never used the word ‘No’ with Henry. She used words like ‘Aa-Oh’ so that Henry would know when his behavior needed self correction. Erica was very patient with Henry. She rewarded Henry for good behavior with food and positive reinforcement. Henry and Erica worked one on one. Henry needed the extra one on one attention to help him catch up to his fellow classmates at school. Consistency, positive reinforcement, care, and patience paid off for Henry. Henry completed the Canine Good Citizen Certification (CGC) in February, 2017. It was a great accomplishment for Henry. Everyone was very proud of Henry and his CGC certificate. The CGC certificate was not just a piece of paper. It was a recognition of the hard work, patience, and support that everyone worked together to help him achieve. The once lone dog who walked the streets injured and by himself was now a “certified good citizen” surrounded by people who supported him and cared for him. Henry was now a part of an elite group of dogs that had earned the GOLD standard of behavior for dogs awarded by the Animal Kennel Club (AKC).

Henry’s forever parents worked directly with Erica in finding ways for Henry to share his story and his ‘zen’ energy with kids and other dogs. In January 2017 Henry was enrolled with HABIC (Human Animal Bond In Colorado). The groups mission is to “improve the quality of life for people of all ages through the therapeutic use of companion animals.” Henry completed level 3 training in March of 2018.

Henry is now excited to share with our Green Gables students his love of reading and more of his story of perseverance to becoming Henry the Reading Wonder Dog!

He is challenging you all to register today for the Jefferson County Library Free Summer Reading program “Rock the Books” and also become a Reading Wonder.

Look for more information on Henry and his journey in an upcoming post soon!

Who is Henry ?

Henry is a very a special dog. He helps children at school with reading, patience, and kindness. Henry is a recent graduate of the HABIC ( Human Animal Bond in Colorado) program.

We are very excited to have Henry help our Green Gables families participate this summer in the Jefferson County Library “Rock the Books” Summer Reading program. Henry wants our Green Gables families to read lot’s of minutes this summer. That’s right the whole family can participate!

Henry loves to read! He especially likes to encourage people to read even if they struggle and to keep on trying! Henry has lot’s of tips and tricks to help you read! You see Henry had a hard time learning at first , but you should see him now! Thru hard work, support, and patience Henry is a thriving mentor and teacher. He has a great story… which we will tell you ALL about very very soon.

The Jefferson County Library summer reading program will award the schools with the highest reading minutes an $800 grant. If we as a county read 40 million minutes the library will donate $500.00 to the Foothills Animal shelter to help dogs like Henry find their forever home, and make a difference!

Henry is giving the Jefferson County Library summer reading program two paws up and is encouraging you all to register today to Rock the Books!

The Green Gabbles PTA is excited to announce our Buy| Sell | Trade Facebook Market Place. This is a forum provided to our Green Gables Families and staff to buy sell and trade items with our community. This is a free service and is a closed Facebook group. To participate you must request membership.

This page is to assist Green Gables Elementary families and staff to buy sell and trade only. No spam, no venting, no public shaming, and no bullying. Absolutely no pet sales.

Please ensure that all posts are priced and do not include “PM for info.” All relevant info should be included in the post including price method of trade and delivery. Green Gables Elementary PTA is not responsible and will not assist in disputes between parties. This is a forum only created for you to post items to our community. You must be a current Green Gables Elementary family to participate in the group. We will review your profile and have the right to remove any posts.

This is a closed group and membership must be requested by joining the group. Feel free to report any inappropriate posts. If you are a business owner we ask that you evaluate the appropriateness of your business to the school community. Green Gables PTA does accept business sponsorship as a membership and will market your business or service there and thru newsletters. You are welcome to price items here for sale or trade. To view our business sponsorship opportunities please see http://ptagreengables.com/membership/.

Our Science Fair Committee coordinated the 2nd year of fun and interactive exhibitors for our budding student scientists! In addition to a lot of great exhibitors, we also had a selfie photo booth, pizza and lots of great science-themed prizes for students.

A special thanks to our group of volunteers and exhibitors:

Audubon Society – Beavers and the tools they use to swim and live in and around the water. Students even got to try out all the gear they would need to swim like a beaver!

Bear Creek High School – These students love science and loved sharing it with Green Gables. Slime and marshmallows in a vacuum were a big hit!

I want to let you know of an important opportunity to make your voice heard at the Colorado Capitol.

An ad hoc coalition of school districts from across the state has come together to launch the Kids Matter Too Coalition. This statewide coalition is calling on lawmakers to ensure Colorado’s growth benefits families by increasing funding for schools.

Colorado school districts are coping with a teacher shortage crisis, shrinking funds for special education, and inadequate mental health services. Next week, the state budget projections will be released, and many expect a surplus. Lawmakers will be making decisions about what to do with this additional funding, and the Kids Matter Too Coalition is asking Coloradoans from every corner of the state to call for additional funding to benefit students.

Consider:

Colorado currently ranks 42nd in the nation in per pupil funding and 50th in the nation in teacher salary competitiveness. Next year, Colorado public schools will need to fill 3,000 vacant positions. This will be difficult with low teacher salaries.

Funding additional mental health services is more than just a resource to help students succeed; it’s a student safety issue as well. Years of budget cuts have decimated the ranks of school counselors and mental health professionals. Our students and families need more mental health support in our schools.

Only Oklahoma and Arizona spend less than Colorado on services for students with special needs. The federal and state government together only cover about 30% of the costs of these expensive services, which leaves individual school districts responsible to cover the remaining 70% with the dwindling funding they have.

We often hear in the news about the strength of the state’s economy, but our schools are still reeling from drastic cuts during the recession. Jeffco Public Schools alone has been shortchanged $642 million since 2009. Our students deserve better, and now the Legislature may be in a position to return some of this funding to our public schools.

Welcome back to school! PTA is excited to get started on the rest of the school year. We are writing to let you know about a variety of ways to get involved in our school this winter and spring. We know everyone is busy and it is hard to add another commitment to your list of “to-do’s” but we have lots of ways to make a difference– whether you have a minute, an hour, or a day to commit (or even want to help organize a whole initiative or event)!

An annual student favorite– they get to bring you to school for a quick breakfast before starting the school day. If you’re coming, would you be willing to bring a dozen muffins or donuts or some juice along with you? Please sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0b4aaea72ea1f85-moms

– If you have one minute– make a financial pledge to support your student’s run, pledges start April 26th.

– If you have one hour– help your student contact neighbors, friends, and family to get pledges to benefit student resources and family events at school.

– If you have one hour– come help out at the event on Thursday, May 3rd and cheer the kids on as they run and run! Watch for information coming soon about signing up to help.

– If you have one day– help coordinate logistics for the event. One of the most fun days of the year at school! Contact ptagreengables@gmail.com to help!

2nd Annual Family Science Night, Wednesday, March 14

– We need at least 30 volunteers for one of the most fun evenings at school all year; we have shifts available for everything from setup to cleanup to helping exhibitors and much more. Sign up here: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0B4AAEA72EA1F85-family.After School Clubs

– This year PTA is starting a new program of after-school clubs and our pilot program is starting in January. If you have a skill that you’d like to teach students you can sign up to lead an after school club in the spring trimester! Watch for more details and a leader application in Friday Folders in February.

Teacher Appreciation Week, May 7-11

– Help show our teachers how much we all appreciate them! Watch for information coming soon about a Teacher Appreciation Week planning meeting, and in the meantime, contact Jan (janclyde2542@gmail.com) to let her know you’re interested in participating.

Attend a PTA Meeting the 2nd Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Free pizza and free childcare provided at all meetings!

February 12

March 12

April 9

May 14

Other Ideas!

– Do you have other ideas– things you’ve seen at other schools, things you remember from when you were in school, things you’ve always looked forward to doing when you had kids in elementary school– please come to a PTA meeting and let us know!!! We are open to your new ideas and we are always looking for ways to enrich our students’ experiences at Green Gables. Join us in making a difference!

We are pleased to announce the second annual Science Fair happening on March 14th from 5:30- 7:00pm We are looking for exhibitors interested in hosting hands-on experiments or informational booths to highlight during this extremely fun and well attended event. Applications accepted until Feb 21, 2018. Complete the form below to be a part of exposing our leprechauns to the excitement of science! https://drive.google.com/…/1A-xYTMOyXC_LVohpAyO2hweS9…/view…

He does! Under the handle of @teamGGES. Do you know who else tweets? Our superintendent and a whole bunch of educational resources tweet! Stay up to date on what’s happening right now in under 140 characters. Yes, 140 characters. It’s like a busy person’s oasis!

It’s not all bad out there on twitter! You get to build your own Personal Learning network filled with twitters and tweets that you care about. October is twitter month and the Jeffco Ed Tech has engaged in a three week challenge to help people get tweeting.

The answer is YES! Last week a couple of Parents came together to gather up all of the Box Tops you have been clipping and saving and submitted $500.00 worth of Box Tops for the Fall Submission. Our goal for the year is to submit $1,000.00 !

How can you help?

Keep Clipping and saving those Box Tops for the Spring

Take advantage of the Box Top App to double our and your earnings

Check the Box Tops for expired ones and only submit those that are still valid

Turn in your Box Tops to the school front desk or containers through out the school

Once you have received your receipt you select the items from the app -> scan your receipt -> select process

What did I think:

It’s pretty easy once you understand what they need to see in the scan of your receipt. It took me three tries to get my receipt accepted, but it was pretty painless. Make sure that your date of sale, line items, receipt total and store are clearly identified in the picture you took of your receipt.

The app provides clear feedback on why your receipt was not processed. For example: Items not found or total missing. It also sends you an email to your Box Top account.

I purchased three items on the app (35 items were eligible). Green Gables earned $1.00 on three items my family purchased. I can quickly see that money in the school account. That was probably easier then cutting, saving, and gluing.

Why Box Tops:

Green Gables has been participating in the Box Top program since 2013. We have earned $7,257.13 over the last 4 years. That’s ALOT of box tops! Now, some would say it’s not worth the effort. I say I eat the products anyhow I might as well help out the school.

During our experiment I only purchased 3 out of the 35 eligible app products on the list. It took me three tries to get the receipt to process ….but we have a dollar in our Green Gables account. Noone had to clip.. and I have 3 box tops to turn in on a collection sheet in January . So my vote is give it a try.

User ID: Your student ID (located on the Jeffco Connect home page in the student information window or on any report card)

Password: The last four digits of your student ID

You then can start to explore from the menu : Ebooks, book by level, book by genre

NOTE: On your mClass report your kiddo had a TRC Reading level. Here is a helpful link to convert that reading level to an AR or lexile level . Using our library search you can search by Lexile level or AR Level for reading level appropriate books for your kiddo.Research has shown that having a child read at their level improves confidence. Let’s be honest though as long as they reading… whatever they are reading ….that is a good thing.. Right? If you don’t want to be so technical about reading levels the IPICK method also helps kiddo select a book from the library.